"Florida Farmworkers Fight for Heat Protections in Miami-Dade County"
Farmworkers and outdoor workers in South Florida are demanding the implementation of a municipal heat standard that would provide access to drinking water, shade, and breaks on the job. The effort, led by labor organization WeCount!, has gained urgency as the region experiences a historic heatwave. At least one farmworker has already died from heat-related causes this year. The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners passed the first reading of an ordinance to create the heat standard, which would also include a heat exposure safety program, employee rights notices, and the establishment of a county Office of Workplace Health and Safety. The federal government has been slow to draft heat safety rules, making the Miami ordinance potentially the first of its kind in the United States.